Page 9 of An Alpha's Affair

“No, sweetheart. This isn’t a dream,” he says with a slight accent.

I’m doing my best to keep my eyes open like he told me to, but my head is pounding. I just want to go to sleep. I’ve had a few concussions in the last year, so I know I need to stay awake. But my goodness it’s so hard.

The blurriness of the room changes color from light to dark as we leave the restroom. The loud music sounds muffled, and I instantly feel the embarrassment of being carried into a club full of people. Even when they see what Ross has done to me, I know they’ll somehow blame me for his abuse.

These people aren’t my friends, they’re his. Ross has them all fooled, and seeing me bruised and broken won’t change their minds. That’s why I’ve been silent. I can’t trust anyone.

“What the fuck, Luca?”

“Go get my car and bring it around to this exit.”

“Do I need to call for clean up?”

“No, he’s alive.”

A chill runs through me at Luca’s words. As tender as he’s being with me, I can’t help but wonder about what happened to Ross. I blacked out, so I’m not sure where he went. But the man talking to Luca just asked if he needed a clean-up.

What the hell does that mean?

“Sweetheart, I’m going to take you out back, okay? You need a doctor,” Luca’s voice is back sweet with no signs of menace it held earlier.

I can’t help but have a flash of Ross and his dual personality. Calm and collected in front of everyone else, but a complete terror with me. Luca is a stranger, and he’s trying to help me. But I really hope I haven’t trusted the wrong person again.

Luca moves swiftly to the back door, and we don’t encounter anyone. I’ve been to this place a few times, and I always wondered why there wasn’t security back here. My fight-or-flight response kicks in, and I start to feel scared.

I begin to shiver, and my heart begins to speed up. I know the panic attack is going to hit soon, and there will be nothing I can do to stop it. I do my best to avoid triggering situations, yet here I am.

I can’t believe all this happened because of the creep. Ross accused me of flirting with his so-called creepy friend after he told Ross I was making eyes at him. Whatever the hell that means. I didn’t even hold eye contact with the man, mainly because he creeps me the fuck out. Ross was standing right there, and he still took this person’s word over mine.

I’m not sure what the creep was trying to do, but getting my ass whooped in the club was not on my to-do list. Hell, I sat in a loud club twiddling my thumbs just to keep the peace. My husband ignored my very existence all night until he slapped the hell out of me and dragged me to the restroom. I could tell by his dilated pupils and slurred speech that he was high off something.

The cool air hitting my face brings me out of my thoughts. My body is still shaking, and the fear is simmering just below the surface. However, I don’t know if it’s my memories or the future that I’m afraid of.

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart. I won’t hurt you. I promise,” Luca says, looking me in my eyes.

I don’t know what it is, but his words sink in. I can feel the truth in his promise. The look in his dark gray eyes holds an honesty that I’m unable to comprehend.

Who is this man?

I’m still in Luca’s arms when a fancy luxury SUV pulls up. The man from before is behind the wheel, and there’s not a trace of worry on his face. Again, it makes me wonder who these men are and how they can be so calm. Surely sneaking a battered woman out the back entrance of the club isn’t a normal occurrence for them.

Luca opens up the door easily, even with me draped in his arms like a damsel in distress. But I guess I am. I don’t know how it came to this point in life, but something has to change. Relying on strangers to save me will have me six feet under.

This situation is the wake-up call I needed. I can’t be too embarrassed to ask my family for help. I can’t let my shame have my parents burying me. What kind of shit is that? I wasn’t raised like that. But I can’t think of those things right now. I just need to get out of here and pray that Luca is just a good samaritan and not some psycho killer.

Luca slides me onto the soft leather seats and gets in beside me. I look up into his face, and I do my best to smile at him. But I can feel the shakiness of my lips, and I dip my head. Shame tries to suffocate me, but I manage to suck it down.

“Thank you,” I say, lifting my head up to look at the beautiful man.

“You’re welcome.” Luca smiles, and the sight almost makes me lose my breath.

“I think I’ll be okay. You can take me ho… no, I can’t go home. Maybe, Talia’s…”

My words get caught in my throat. If I go to Talia’s house, Ross will definitely find me. My pounding head is making me lose focus, and I can’t think of a safe place to hide.

I don’t think I have a safe place.

“You will always have a safe place.” I hear Luca say, I didn’t even realize that I’d said that out loud.